Rangers remember
Old Firm supporters unite to pay respects
Tributes were made at Ibrox yesterday to mark 50 years since 66 people died in a crush at the stadium
Tributes were paid to victims of the Ibrox disaster yesterday to mark its 50th anniversary.
A service was held at Ibrox ahead of the Old Firm game and players and club officials paid their respects to the 66 people who lost their lives.
Rangers legend John Greig, team captain that afternoon, and Celtic chairman Ian Bankier laid wreaths outside the Bill Struth Main Stand ahead of the 12.30pm kick- off.
A crush on stairway 13 of Ibrox Stadium on January 2, 1971, at the end of a Rangers v Celtic match, resulted in the disaster and it remains the worst in the history of Scottish football.
Floral tributes were also left outside the ground by supporters.
A minute’s silence was held prior to yesterday’s game, which Rangers won 1- 0, with the home team’s strips embroidered with the words: “Always Remembered.
January 2, 1971.” Rangers and Celtic captains James Tavernier and Callum McGregor carried wreaths on to the pitch and both sets of players donned black armbands.
A banner erected inside the stadium’s Sandy Jardine stand read: “With the angels. I’ll be singing up in heaven. There up above, I’ ll be singing Follow Follow to the Rangers that I love.”
Relatives of victims laid floral tributes at a memorial outside the stadium. Rangers had hoped to pay tribute to those who died with a ser v ice at Glasgow Cathedra l . But Cov id- 19 restrictions ruled it out.
In a video released on Twitter yesterday, Rangers said the 66 victims will never be forgotten by the club or their supporters.
Chairman Douglas Park said: “At its time, the 1971 Ibrox disaster was the worst disaster in British sport and the effect of the disaster profoundly impacted not only Rangers but Glasgow, Scotland and society as a whole.
“The memory of the supporters who passed away in 1971 has a special place in the club’s history and on the 50th anniversary of the 1971 disaster we will come together to remember their lives and legacy.”
In the video, the names of the 66 victims were read out by Rangers manager Steven Gerrard and his players, as well as the Rangers women’s squad and staff. On Friday, a banner paying tribute to the victims was also unveiled by fans outside Celtic Park ahead of the anniversary.
Initial reports suggested the tragedy had been caused by supporters rushing back up the stairs after a late Rangers’ goal, colliding with people leaving the stadium.
But a public inquiry found that the deaths were the result of the crush of fans pouring down stairway 13.